UCF Fumbles Big Lead in 4th Quarter To Baylor
UCF had its Big 12 home opener against the Baylor Bears at the Bounce House “FBC Mortgage Stadium” on Saturday, September 30th. Not only was it UCF’s Big 12 opener, it was also Homecoming Weekend, which made the game especially exciting for players, coaches, and fans.
The Knights charged into this game after a tough loss to K-State last week. Baylor arrived to its first away game with a 1-3 record. Both teams were looking to make a statement as a Big 12 contender as the Knights kicked off in its first home appearance in this conference.
UCF dominated the first half of the game. The first Baylor drive was shut down quickly by the Knights. Johnny Richardson ran for 79 yards in the first play of their possession, resulting in their first home Big 12 touchdown and his record long touchdown run. Timmy McClain ran two yards for the second touchdown. Javon Baker impressed the crowd with a 65 yard touchdown interception run, which is his career record. UCF was forced to its first punt at the end of the first quarter, ending quarter 1 with a 21-7 lead. Demari Henderson scooped a fumble to run for an 87 yard touchdown, which was UCF’s first fumble return touchdown since 2019. Tre’mon Morris-Brash and Malachi Lawrence both added sacks to their stats in the first half. The Knights ended the first half by forcing a Bear’s intentional grounding penalty which resulted in a missed field goal attempt. UCF’s possession time of 6:58 verses Baylor’s time of 23:02 led to a lead of 28-7.
UCF struggled to add points on the scoreboard in the second half. Xavier Townsend caught the first touchdown of the second half after 14 plays and 6:46 minutes, the longest time of possession in the 2023 season. Morris-Brash tried to kept the momentum going with a sack on Baylor’s next possession. Baylor intercepted late in the game, which resulted in Baylor’s second touchdown, and the Bears added a third and fourth touchdown soon after. Baylor’s field goal with 1:21 left in the game gave them the lead for the first time in the game and secured their victory over UCF 36-35, earning a record for the largest come back in Baylor history.
Up Next:
UCF at Kansas October 7th at 4 ET on Fox
Baylor hosts Texas Tech October 7th
